In the beginning... there was the Garford 5-ton. Pictured above and below.
In both illustrations you can plainly see the sleek lines, low-slung carriage and the air that it's going like a bat-out-of-hell - even standing still.
Okay. Not really. but they were Solid, serviceable trucks as evidenced by these two photos. At 30 horsepower, nobody was burning up the road.
Anyway, I've prattled on this subject before but to briefly cover that ground again: The Russian Empire bought 50 such trucks and created the Putilov-Garford.
Heavy; 8 or 11 tons depending on who's writing and top-heavy like an upright piano. And they didn't soup-up that 30 hp power plant either.
Top end: 12 mph. Off road it kept wanting to lay over on its side and rest. Traction was negated by those solid rubber tires.
Still she was nobody to mess with. Her main gun, facing rearward was roughly equivalent to that of a WW2 Sherman. It didn't traverse all 360 degrees but there were three Maxim guns facing forward.
So, I present...
The Putilov-Garford
| Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. |
| The Empire went south as you well know. After that the P.G was still used for a time. Post war Freikorps pictured. |
| Ya aint stuck 'till ya gotta walk. Like now. |
| Guy kneeling in center; "Now watch me this time, damnit! You take this lace over the other one and then, under it, then pull them tight. Now, put one finger here... God damn it! Pay attention. We can't keep stopping just 'cause your shoe's untied." |
On that note we'll bid a fond farewell to the joint endeavor of Elyria, Ohio and the Putilov Company of St. Petersburg with a nice respectful pass-in-review shot.
This post first appeared on Weapons, Warfare And Industrial Idiocy, please read the originial post: here
